FASHION DESIGNER

Laila

ITEM - YEAR - MATERIAL - MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE

1. Black asymmetric top - 2023 - cotton - recycled t- shirts - cut & redesigned 

1.a Black fireskirt - 2024 - cotton - recycled trousers - bleach dye 

• crochet band & belt made from fabric cutoffs

2. Black beige top - 2022 - cotton - recycled top - bleach dye - handstitched lace up back + beige armwarmers - cotton -recycled t-shirt

2.a Black skirt - 2017 - cotton - recycled skirt - redesigned 

2.b Grey coat - 2023 - wool - recycled pullover - cut and redesigned + beige hemp shawl - recycled t-shirt

3.White top - 2022 - hemp - recycled t-shirt - cut and redesigned 

3.a White skirt - 2016 - linen & cotton - recycled table cloth & bed linens

4. Miniskirt - 2022 - cotton - recycled t shirts - cut - redesigned & bleach dye

4.a Black top - 2022 - cotton - recycled shirt & cut

4.b Black poncho - 2017 - cotton - recycled knitted textile - assembled & sewed +

4.c Shawl - cotton - 2022 - recycled fabric - bleach dye

5. Green skirt and top - 2023 - recycled dress - cut, redesigned & sewed

• black-green arm warmers - 2019 - wool - fabric scraps

5.a Tribal vest - 2016 - recycled sheepskin - cut, designed & sewed

6.Green top - 2022 - cotton - recycled shirt - redesigned 

6.a Green skirt - 2022 - wool - recycled pullover - cut & sewed + arm warmers from the recycled pullover 

6.b Green Coat - 2022 - cotton - recycled coat - cut, redesigned, painted

7. Black wild top - 2024 - cotton - recycled fabric scraps - handstitched & hand

painted with bleach dye

7.a Black skirt - 2023 - cotton - recycled skirt - redesigned

FASHION DESIGNER 

Els van Doornen 

ITEM - YEAR - MATERIAL - MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE 

1. Caftan - 2024 - eco-dying with eucalyptus leaves and mono printing with bamboo leafs on eco-viscose 

2. Yellow harem pants with shirt - 2024 - eco-dying with yellow and red onion on a secondhand tablecloth 

3. Dress and pants - 2024 - eco-dying with reseda and eco-printing with chamomile and 

eucalyptus bark on eco-viscose 

4. Orange harem pants with shirt - 2025 - eco-dying with yellow onion and madder on secondhand cotton sheets 

CONCEPT 

For me Nature is a neverending source of inspiration. Just wondering around. In stillness or all sensory perceptions wide opened. Since a few years I discovered eco-printing. The wonderful 

world of steaming structure and the color of flowers, plants and trees onto textiles. Hundreds of experiments well organized and stored in boxes. Experiments with different natural textiles, mordants, natural dyes, shapes, colors, structures, textures, compositions and in applied arts. 

For this exhibition I selected a few experiments with eucalyptus bark. Inspired by those small experiments I made bigger works. Every time I’m astonished about the richness of nature. 

FASHION DESIGNER

Rety Tanavots - Earth Angel's Design

ITEM - YEAR - MATERIAL - PRICE

Slit & weave tops - 2025 - cotton - €15

Slit & weave leggings - 2025 - cotton - €25

Feather earrings - 2025 - upcycled bicycle tire, inner tube - cut by hand - €22/€25

Choker necklaces - 2025 - upcycled bicycle tire, inner tube - cut by hand - €25

Bracelets - 2025 - upcycled bicycle tire, inner tube - cut by hand - €20

CONCEPT

Earth Angels Design unveils a daring jewelry collection that gives discarded bike tires a bold second life. Each piece — from large statement earrings to chokers, bracelets, and anklets — is handcrafted from upcycled black rubber, turning what was once waste into striking gothic and punk-inspired adornment. This collection is raw yet refined, rebellious yet conscious, made for those who believe style should speak louder than words. Every design is vegan, eco-friendly, and deeply symbolic — proof that what we throw away can be reborn as something powerful and beautiful. These pieces are more than jewelry; they are statements of transformation, courage, and unapologetic individuality.

I have upcycled 3 pairs of my own black cotton leggings that have reached the end of their life being used in yoga classes, gardening and all around... when they had so many holes, that I didn't even want to wear them in the garden any more I decided to look at it in the permaculture way using the principle: The problem is the solution. So, if there is too many holes.... lets make more holes...  This is how those pieces were born.

FASHION DESIGNER

Mélo

ITEM - YEAR

Skirt, 2025

CONCEPT

‘Threaded with memories’

From the fabric of my grandmother’s old skirt, I stitched something new — a story woven between generations. 

I added two fabrics I love, letting colors and textures speak of who I am today. The silhouette is modern, but the soul is vintage. Each seam holds a memory, each fold a gentle tribute.

It’s more than a skirt — it’s a piece of the past, lovingly reimagined.

FASHION DESIGNER

Flore

ITEM - YEAR - MATERIAL - MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE

1. Bordeaux wax print top & skirt with circular motifs - 1986 / 2025 - fabric sourced from Benin in 1986 by my mother, natural fibers & handmade, reworked into a skirt, handcrafted

So not only textiles gifted by her mother, also treasured pieces passed down from her grandmother. Each textile carries a story, a trace of life and memory.

2. African 80s vibes skirt & top, set - 2025 - mixed fibers - originally a full-length dress found in a thrift store in Brussels, reworked into a matching wrap skirt and long-sleeve top, handcrafted

Since her teenage years, Flore has been collecting fabrics and garments—pieces found in thrift stores, gifted by friends and family. Over time, this collection has grown to include deeply personal textiles

3. Shiny blue & pink dress – sari inspired - 2025 - synthetic fabric - originally a scarf found at a swap bar in Brussels, transformed into a sari-inspired dress, hand-customized

Flore strives to work mostly with natural fabrics, though sometimes synthetic materials remain—traces of the inherited textiles I continue to transform

4. Customized transparent white dress with turquoise wax - 2025 - cotton and wax print fabric - handcrafted

Ever she has been a child, customizing clothes has been a form of daydreaming—an escape into a comforting, imaginative world. It connects me to myself while allowing me to shape something unique and that doesn't contribute to new factory production. 

5. Yellow Portuguese macramé - 2023 cotton - created from two pieces of traditional Portuguese macramé, originally made for interior use, hand-assembled
5.a Customized pants  - 2025 - cotton - secondhand piece, hand-dyed with natural pigments, pearls added

Recently she also incorporate secondhand donations to Spirala EcoVillage & objects like macramé pieces found at the Fundão market, traditionally used in Portuguese homes. These two new sources of fabrics are the fruit of my new chapter of life in Portugal.

6. Customized beige overall - 2025 - cotton - naturally dyed with natural pigments

6a. Customized transparent pink long-sleeve top - 2025 - delicate fabric with floral embroidery

She transforms the clothing depending on the piece, sometimes simply by dyeing them with ecological dyes, sometimes by modifying or entirely recreating them. Her process is intuitive, guided by the material itself. 

CONCEPT

My collecting & customizing practice.

Since my teenage years, I’ve been collecting fabrics and garments—pieces found in thrift stores, gifted by friends and family, or discovered by chance. Over time, this collection has grown to include deeply personal textiles, like fabrics from the 1980s gifted by my mother from Benin, and treasured pieces passed down from my grandmother. Each textile carries a story, a trace of life and memory.

With this archive, I transform clothing—sometimes simply by dyeing them with ecological dyes, sometimes by modifying or entirely recreating them. My process is intuitive, guided by the material itself. Recently I also incorporate secondhand donation to Spirala EcoVillage & objects like macramé pieces found at the Fundão market, traditionally used in Portuguese homes. These two new sources of fabrics are the fruit of my new chapter of life in Portugal.

Since I was a child, customizing clothes has been a form of daydreaming—an escape into a comforting, imaginative world. It connects me to myself while allowing me to shape something unique and that doesn't contribute to new factory production. I strive to work mostly with natural fabrics, though sometimes synthetic materials remain—traces of the inherited textiles I continue to transform.

FASHION DESIGNER

Cleolenzea Rivera

ITEM - YEAR - MATERIAL - MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE

Top - 2025 - cotton, yarn and elastic ribbon - crochet

Pants - 2025 - cotton & stretch with red pleather and mixed textile border - redesigned

Necklace - 2025 - silk yarn and drift wood

CONCEPT

Lenzea loves and connects to native tribal Indian spirit.  Most of the adornments worn by the native Indians held a symbolic meaning. The resources they had were used wisely and sacredly.

The most significant piece that Je’he is wearing today is “the shield of love.”  Found at a thrift shop in Porto, Portugal. This was a crochet decorative table cloth made of cotton yarn and ribbon. She repaired it and added self-made finger crochet straps. She could not imagine cutting the hand crochet piece. Instead she prefers to make it into an attachable-detachable piece. Eventually this piece will be attached to a poncho. 

Lenzea loves making hand-sewn accessories from her collection of first or second hand textiles, beads, precious things found in nature. Je’he’s fake fur crown, symbolizes submission to God. The necklace he’s wearing, is made out of recycled silk yarn and a piece of drift wood found on one of the many beaches where Lenzea’s has collected her precious treasures….it symbolizes 'unspoken humility’.  The wooly woven band around Je’he’s arm symbolizes ‘through thick and thin’. The golden cuff, symbolizes abundance and his sacred ancestry…this was a damaged leftover textile that was repaired. The cotton stretched pants he is wearing is from a second hand shop in Porto which have been accessorized with red pleather border representing the pain born through time and the 3 small woven wooly borders stripes symbolize 'through thick and thin spiritual connection’. The Swan feather that Je’he is wearing, was one of many that Lenzea found by the Weser river in Beverungen, Germany…this symbolizes divine union.

Lenzea is a collector of both old and new textiles and fabrics. When she has spare time, she loves hand sewing accessories or making herself something to wear, or sew something practical for her home. Last year, she met a textile business man from Sri Lanka who offered her an opportunity to represent and sell his textiles. Without truly knowing what she was getting herself into, her excitement of being around 1000 or more types of fabrics and making a lot of money, she spontaneously said yes to the trade. Very soon, as she did her research to learn about textiles and how they are produced, she came to realize how much waste and environmental pollution is being produced and decided to not be apart of the scene. Alongside her short little adventure at two New York textile shows, she came to see that there are ethical textile companies and met a women who promotes manufactures who are ethically aware and try to resolve the issues of excess textiles. This experience made her realize that she herself had an excess of clothing and textiles, which sparked an upcycled fashion show alongside an art exhibition as she and Hannah began to conceptualize OAS.

FASHION DESIGNER

Helena A. Moonchild

ITEM - YEAR - MATERIAL - MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE

1. Pants ‘Connection with the God Ra’, 2025, linen. The pants were first dyed in turmeric. The dyeing process took about two or three days. The prints (textile paint) on these pants are from leaves and various materials. The pants are soft yellow, the natural dye is alive, like life itself. The color is not the same everywhere, there are different shades of yellow, the print is bright yellow, red and orange. These colors symbolize the element of fire. Therefore the model is named ‘Connection with the God Ra’.

The copper jewelry with moldavite were handmade and especially designed for the pants. The jewelry is made by Sophie (Lousa, Brutus and Olivie coppersmiths). Copper combined with moldavite is a magical combination. Moldavite is a rock found only in the Czech Republic.

2. Pants, ‘Earth’, 2025, linen. They are old, long, linen, summer pants for men. The pants were white, worn and had stains on them. The pants are dyed in a mixture of onion, avocado seeds and peels, and black tea. As with the previous model, the dyeing process took about 2 to 3 days. Usually you can calculate the amount of dye, the weight of the fabric determines the amount of dye. So you need a lot of onion peels (but don't worry about the onions, I can give you an excellent recipe for an onion spread:)) The pants also have subtle prints on them, all in subtle shades of brown and green. 

The name of the model is ‘Earth’. A symbol of grounding, and a connection with nature. 

The model will again be adorned with jewelry and handmade second hand clothes by an Czech artist.

Moldavite and Copper:

Moldavite or moldavite is a precious stone, a natural green-colored glass with a characteristic surface structure called sculpting. Moldavites are the only European tektites, rocks formed as a result of a meteorite impact. The richest deposits are found in southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.

The powerful impact of a falling meteorite solidified the surrounding rocks and released hot material into the air. When it hit the ground, the molten material cooled and solidified, creating the fascinating green moldavite.

Symbolism of moldavite

Moldavite is considered a stone of transformation and spiritual growth. It symbolizes a connection with the universe and celestial energies, which brings enlightenment and deep awareness. It is also a symbol of protection and guidance, helping individuals find their way and protecting them from negative influences.

Properties of copper

According to myths, it is a conductor of the spiritualist belief system and is able to conduct spiritual energy back and forth between individuals, crystals, auras, the mind and the spirit world. Copper jewelry is also believed to have the power to amplify thoughts when sending and receiving psychic communication.

Copper is used in the treatment of wounds and skin conditions, as well as internal diseases, anemia, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease. It can also help improve blood circulation, increase energy and detoxify the body. It is used to bring energies for all types of healing, including arthritis treatment, relief from fracture pain, sexual instability and low energy. Copper jewelry has been found to relieve joint stiffness and arthritis by opening the flow of blocked energy.

CONCEPT

Dyeing with natural dyes is a fun and playful, it has surprising and unpredictable results. Which brings many challenges. It is never clear what intensity a color will give. You can dye with flowers, vegetables, fruits et cetera. You can fully use your imagination. And it's a great way to recycle old clothes.